The Land of the Ascending Dragon
We spent 27 days in Vietnam, January 4th to January 30th. We were a bit nervous about Vietnam because we had heard so many mixed reviews from other travelers. It turns out that we love Vietnam! It has made its way onto our favorites list. We loved the diversity of flavors, experiences, and climates as we traveled from south to north. It made every location a little special. Our top favorites were some of the smaller towns: Hoi An, Tam Coc, and Sapa. It might also be a favorite because we got to spend ten days with Lindsey’s parents traveling in luxury. It was nice to follow a different tourist path for a while. We knew that we would be staying at nicer hotels, but we didn’t realize that would also mean that they recommended different restaurants and activities. It was a fun change and we relished in the new experiences of traveling in style.
1. Go
Transportation in Vietnam is a pretty mixed bag. It’s a lot busier than neighboring Cambodia and much faster. Considering that Vietnam has about 90 million people, it makes sense that the roads would be busy. We found the public transportation to be decent and easy enough to find. We really loved being able to travel by train, but wish the tracks were a little smoother so we could sleep soundly.
Total traveling distances:
- Bus – 1080 km
- Train – 2029 km
- Taxi – 240 km
- Boat – 50 km
- Foot – 314,000 steps
2. See
Vietnam has a large variety of things to see an do, from war tourism to cities to natural beauty, there’s something for everyone.
Favorite Museums:
- Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi – This museum focuses on the minority tribes in Vietnam. The displays were a refreshing and engaging mix of artifacts, photos, videos, and life size scenes. They even had reconstructed tradition homes to explore.
Favorite Outdoors:
- Halong Bay – Easily one of the most beautiful and strange places on earth.
- Ninh Binh – Described as the “Halong Bay on land” this place is also beautiful and strange.
- Sapa – What can we say, we just love the mountains and crisp air.
Favorite Cities:
- Hoi An – Ok, this is more of a town than a city, but it is beyond charming. During the day, the tiny alleys fill with tailor shops, and at night it lights up with lanterns and floating candles.
Vietnam – Hoi An – Japanese Covered Bridge
3. Eat
Fresh and delicious! Vietnam cuisine has as much variety as the climate and weather. From the comforting hot soups for breakfast to fresh salads and large amounts of vermicelli, we just couldn’t get enough. Like Taiwan, each region has a specialty. Locals were quick to tell us what dish they made better than anyone else. Simple dishes like pho and spring rolls varied drastically from one area to another. We could make an incredibly long list, but we will stick to our top five foods.
Favorite Foods:
- Bun Cha – This is Lindsey’s new obsession. You get a big plate of vermicelli, grilled pork, herbs, spring rolls, and fish sauce. Then you get to mix them together and enjoy!
- Pho – This simple, comforting staple turned into our comfort food.
- Green Papaya Salad – Fresh and light and perfect during hot weather. There are also versions made with green mango and banana flower that are just as tasty.
- Squid Cake – This is a Halong Bay specialty and they claim that no one else makes it like they do. We didn’t get to test this claim since we only ate it in Halong Bay, but they made a delicious version. It’s a breaded, deep fried “cake” made of squid and possibly something else.
- The Green Tangerine – Ok, this is a restaurant and not a dish, but wow! Everything we had there was outstanding and unique.
4. Drink
In case you missed it, we love Vietnam’s coffee. It is really, really strong (too strong for Lindsey in the north). Usually it’s served with sweetened condensed milk, but we have it black since we can’t have dairy.
Favorite Drinks:
- Coffee – Strong enough to make you question your purpose in life.
5. Sleep
We were really pleased with all our accommodations in Vietnam. The hotels and guesthouses we stayed in were all clean with incredibly friendly staff. Once we met up with Lindsey’s parents, things got a bit nicer. We stayed in some pretty great rooms with some coma-inducing, soft beds.
Favorite Sleeps:
- Victoria Resort, Sapa – Perched on the hill side above town and reminiscent of a mountain lodge, this place had great food, great views, and great ambiance.
- Paradise Cruise, Halong Bay – Our room was tiny, but gorgeous. We even had a balcony!
Vietnam – Halong Bay – Our ship
6. Move
The cooler temperatures in central and northern Vietnam made being active much easier. We were able to bike, walk, hike, and swim!
Favorite walking/running/biking/kayaking spots:
- Hoi An – Nice biking through the rice paddies.
- Tam Coc – Even more biking through rice paddies and through the hills. Also, lots of hiking to the top of karsts for the view.
- Halong Bay – Cold but spectacular kayaking. The equipment could have been better… packing tape held our paddles together.
- Sapa – The cool, crisp air made hiking and running very enjoyable.
7. Etcetera
As we’ve mentioned before, our rough budget for this trip is $100 a day (for two people). Our daily average in Vietnam (pre-Chadwick adventure) was $71.51. We were surprised it was so low. We felt like we were living it up and spending lots of dough even before we met up with the ‘rents. Vietnam had everything that we wanted in our price range.
We heard lots of people say that the Vietnamese were unfriendly, but we did not find this to be the case. All our hotel staff and guides were incredibly friendly. Some restaurant or food stall workers were short with us, but we didn’t think it was rudeness. Maybe it’s all those years we spent in New York, so it didn’t bother us! At the nicer restaurants we went to with Lindsey’s parents, the staff was very friendly and accommodating. It was only at quick-bites establishments that we experienced the shortness and usually just when they were very busy.
Check out all our photos from Vietnam on Flickr and our post, Colors of Vietnam.
Also, check out our weekly posts from Vietnam:
Nomadic Cadence 